My personal stuff and my interest in Business Processes Management, Collaboration Methodologies and Technologies, Data Security and User Experience.
Technologies that I currently focus on are Dojo, iPhora Foundation/Touch, Linux, NOSQL, and NodeJS.

Monday, August 25, 2014

With MWLUG 2014 just about to start in a couple of days, we will be announcing the host city for MWLUG 2015 on Friday at the closing session. So we have decided to head south for 2015. And yes it is a bit of a stretch in calling some of these towns being in the Midwest. Here are the potential host cities for MWLUG 2015. We would like to hear your input so fill out the survey.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

As many of us who have attended Lotusphere/IBMConnect/Connected know that IBM references a fictitious company for their demonstrations called Renovations Inc.We have a number of XPages with Java sessions and we wanted to apply the demos and designs to a company and cohesively tie the different sessions into how one company that was using XPages throughout their business. So we came up with Midwest Bicycle Incorporated. So as you attend these sessions you will learn how the Midwest Bicycle Incorporated uses XPages throughout their operation.

As many of you know MWLUG is not just about building knowledge of IBM solutions and networking with our fellow ICS community members, it is about being part of the community. This is one of the reason we move MWLUG from city to city. It is about getting to know your local community whether it is in your town or a different town.

Each year we have a fundraising drive for a local community organization in particular a local food bank. This year with the help of Devin Olson our boots on the ground, we have selected Kid's Food Basket as our MWLUG 2014 Community Outreach Program Recipient. We will be raffling off a weekend stay at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel as the grand prize along with signed copies of Virgil Westdale's book.

Please take the opportunity to help feed the needy kids in Western Michigan. Each raffle ticket is $10 and you can buy them at the registration desk starting Thursday morning. We will announce the winners on just after the Speed Sponsoring on Thursday afternoon. We can no longer use Eventbrite for the raffle so please bring exact change. For ever $1 we raise we will provide 5 meals to kids.

Kid's Food Basket"One in four children experience hunger in West Michigan. Kids' Food Basket is a force for attacking childhood hunger, ensuring that lunch is not the last meal of the day for over 6,000 kids at 32 schools in Grand Rapids and Muskegon. Sack Suppers are well-rounded evening meals that provide nutrition critical to the development of the brain and body."To learn more go to: http://kidsfoodbasket.org

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

In light of the recent conversations regarding SSL and SHA-2 support for Domino within the ICS community, the "Ask IBM" session will be a great session for IBM customers and partners to ask this and other critical questions to our IBM panel at MWLUG 2014. Below is the official description of the session. The session will be on Wednesday at 6:00 PM in the Imperial Room.

AskIBM - IGS101
Here is a session you want to attend!! This will be like attending GURUpalooza, Ask the Developers and Ask the Product Managers but all at once. All (or most) IBMers attending MWLUG 2014 will join efforts and will answer all your questions related to Best Practices, Licensing, Roadmap, Offerings, Vision, etc. This will be a very informal roundtable/panel style session and will be lot of fun. Please come prepared with all those questions you always wanted to Ask IBM.

We are one week away from the start of MWLUG 2014. There is still time to register for this one and only ICS user group conference in North America this year. This year we have 3 days of events and sessions. Take this opportunity to learn and network with all you ICS community members in person and be true to our MWLUG 2014 theme "Connecting the Human Community."

Here are the highlights for this years conference.

44 sessions and workshops in 5 topics areas:

Application Development

Best Practices and Customer Business Cases

Mobility and Web Security

Open Source with ICS

System Administration

3 BOF user group sessions

Wednesday visit to the Gerald Ford Library and Museum

Thursday Evening Social Event at Founders Brewing Co

Wednesday Evening Exhibitor Showcase Reception

OGS Guest Speaker, Virgil Westdale

OGS IBM Speaker, Kramer Reeves

Book Signing withVirgil Westdale

For Cyclist, Saturday MWLUG 2014 Bike Ride

Breakfast and Lunch for two days

So if you have not register for MWLUG 2014, time is getting close. We still have room and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel still have rooms available at the discount rate.

Friday, August 15, 2014

A new session has been added to an already packed MWLUG 2014. The new session is entitled "Ask IBM". If you are familiar with the "Ask a Product Manager" session at IBMConnect, you will know what this session is all about. The difference is that you are up and front of the IBM panel almost in a one to one conversation. This session is scheduled to be in the Imperial Room at 6:00 PM before the Exhibitor Showcase Reception that will be held in the Vandenberg Rooms. So coming and join us and ask away. Then continue your conversation with beer, wine, or soda and hors d'oeuvre and learn about all the great sponsors that we have at MWLUG 2014.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Scott Souder from IBM is coming again to MWLUG 2014 and will be following up on his last year's OGS keynote and presenting the latest news about IBM Mail Next.

His presentation
is:

IBM Mail Next: Focus on Your Work, Not Your Inbox!

Unlike many other trends, email is not going away. You know it, and IBM knows it, which is why IBM is revolutionizing the corporate inbox from the ground up for today's social and mobile workplace. Check out this session if you want to hear the details and see the latest update for Mail Next -- still under development -- and how your organization can position itself for driving massive improvements in end-user satisfaction, productivity and engagement with IBM's new cloud-based, easy-to-use inbox

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

MWLUG 2014 is coming up in two weeks. Our IBM OGS Speaker is Kramer Reeves. He will be presenting IBM's current and future vision of IBM Collaboration Solutions including my favorite platform, Domino. His presentation is entitled, "IBM Collaboration Solutions - Vision and Strategy for Today and the Future." So, if you want to know the future direction of IBM Collaboration and how it will impact your organization, it is important that you come to this session, OGS101.

The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel has been gracious enough to extend the MWLUG 2014 hotel discount of $129.00 as long as there are rooms available. So get registered and come to the best ICS user group conference this year in North America and beer is included.

Monday, August 11, 2014

The guaranteed MWLUG 2014 hotel discount rate of $129.00 for MWLUG 2014 attendees expires today, August 11, 2014. The hotel is normally over $200 per night. After today, if there are available rooms, the hotel may honor the rate but it is not guaranteed. If you are coming to MWLUG 2014 and register for the hotel after today and there are no more rooms at the discount rate, please contact me and I will see what I can do.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

The MWLUG 2014 OGS Guess Speaker will be autographing copies of his books "Blue Skies and Thunder" after the OGS. He and his co-author, Stephanie A Gerdes will be on handle to sign their book. The cost of hardcover copies is $30 and for the paperback copy, $ 20. We ask if you would like them to autograph a copy that you donate $10 to our MWLUG 2014 Outreach Program designated Grand Rapids food bank. We will also be raffling off a few signed copies. The raffle donation will also be $10. All the proceeds with benefit a Grand Rapids food bank. Please bring exact change. The OGS is a bit shorted this year in order to give everyone an opportunity to get a signed copy of the book.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

We are three weeks away from MWLUG 2014 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel from August 27-29, 2014. The special hotel discount is expiring on August 11, 2014. I will attempt to extend that, but no guarantees. This is going to be the best MWLUG conference we have ever had. Here are some of the highlights for this year.

Always be Happy

About Me

I have been working with Notes and Domino since Notes 3. I have started three different companies after working as a consultant in a large firm including Phora Group, Taishan Works and ReCor. I promote the use of collaboration and business processing technologies.
I am the Past President of the GRANITE Lotus User Group here in Chicago and co-organizer of the Midwest Lotus User Group Conferences.
I focus on Business Process Management, UI Design, and Data Security. IBM Champion 2015, 2016, 2017